President Putin is set to convene a special summit in St. Petersburg with African leaders. However, the number of participants is significantly lower than expected, partly due to concerns surrounding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and its withdrawal from a UN-brokered deal that facilitated safe grain shipments from Ukraine’s southern ports.
Given the critical issue of food security following the Russian invasion, the agreement had played a crucial role in stabilizing global food prices.
During the first Russia-Africa summit in 2019, 43 leaders attended, whereas this time, only 17 are expected to participate.